Photography by Randi Gording and Knut Schjerverud

Namibia Landscape

Namibia has a long stretch coastline of more than 160 mil, but the arid Namib Desert extends in a thin belt along the coast making Namibia one of the driest countries on earth and sparsely populated. It shares borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south.

Welwitschia mirabilis is endemic to the Namib desert within Namibia and Angola. The plant only produces a single pair of functional leaves. Welwitschias are very long-lived, living 1000 years or more. Some individuals may be more than 2000 years old.